The series was a success in multiple decades. Other episodes can be seen at:

http://www.youtube.com/user/JoanDavisChannel?feature=mhsn

I'm re-writing my review. This episode of the program (which aired for three seasons with mixed ratings success) may very well be a spoof of those who care too much about image. Doing this in a TV sitcom was/is nothing new, and is one of the oldest surviving plot ideas in cinema. The episode is funny if rather dated.

An intentionally silly piece of fluff, exactly how popular it was is unclear (ratings charts were not completely reliable at the time, and to this day they should be taken with a grain of salt).

Not a bad series, even if the basic premise had already been done more than twice on TV. It is easy why it became extremely common to see in repeats into the 1970's and retains a fanbase.